法律人选择工作城市时，北上广深四座城市依旧是不少人的首选。一方面，中国不同城市律师业发展水平还不均匀，一线城市在客观上提供着更多工作机会；另一方面，一线城市的国内大所、精品所和国际所云集，接触“高大上项目”的机会多，也能为其快速成长提供更好机会。
然而与此同时，律师们也得面对“硬币的另一面”：即高昂的生活成本和时刻绷紧的神经。根据美世咨询刚刚公布的2021城市生活成本排名，上海、北京分别位列全球第6和第9。深圳和广州也并未落后，分别位列第12和第17。
不过现在，年轻一代也有了更多选择。法律招聘公司Major, Lindsey & Africa在调查了约240名出生于1995年至2000年之间的Z世代法律人后发现，生活与工作平衡对于年轻律师正变得愈发重要，而想“鱼和熊掌”兼得，选对城市是重要一步。
不久前，ALB做了一次“法律人的城市选择”小调研，在近200位受访律师中，41%的人目前在一线城市工作，因为北上广深的机会多，合适奋力拼搏，他们也暂时没有离开的想法；不过也有24%的受访律师表示北上广深工作压力太大，曾产生过离开一线城市的冲动。
同时，有16%的受访律师曾在北上广深学习/工作过，但目前已离开并选择前往其他国内城市；还有18%的人表示自己一直“扎根非一线城市”，并对目前的生活及工作状态非常满意。
有苦有甜
Kate是西安锦路律师事务所的一名律师，她的经历很好地彰显出年轻律师在选择工作城市时的诸多考量。Kate毕业于北京大学，曾在竞天公诚律师事务所工作过一年，随后选择回到家乡西安。2015年毕业的她如今已经成为了一位初级合伙人，因为“涉及很多跨境业务”，目前正在纽约攻读哥伦比亚大学的法学硕士（LLM.）学位。
Kate形容自己的选择“有理性考量也有巧合”。“作为一个西安人，很多亲戚朋友都在西安，生活环境熟悉，我也有更多时间陪伴家人。”她说，“西安的生活和住房成本较低，城市整体拥挤度和生活节奏相较一线城市较低，舒适度更强。”
因此，她觉得在西安的生活“整体生活、工作的平衡感还是不错的……会有因为项目加班加点的情况，但也会有相对不忙的时间，能抽空做一些专业知识的梳理和研究，以及个人兴趣爱好的培养等”。她继而指出，“稳定的人际关系和舒适的生活环境可以极大地促进工作生产力”。
当然，一二线之间难免存在落差，尤其在接触的项目方面，因此回归非一线，选择什么样的律所很重要。Kate对锦路能够提供的机会就比较满意：“锦路主要服务北上广深等一线市场客户、对标一线市场的服务标准，所以在工作内容上并不会存在与一线市场脱节的情况。这样的模式和定位与我对工作状态和职业发展道路的设想比较契合。”
当然，非一线也存在不可忽视的弊端。 “由于远离北上广深等客户和同行聚集的地方，非一线城市在业务开展，或是与客户面对面沟通等方面便捷性较差，律师参与行业内线下交流切磋的机会也相对较少。”Kate坦言。
对于大多数“逃离北上广深”的律师来说，虽然脱离了一线的环境，但并不意味着就此摆脱了一线的眼光和需求，这也造就了他们内心和环境的一些“不匹配”，以及挣扎矛盾。
另一位目前在杭州发展的年轻律师也向ALB说出了他的故事。他指出，伴随中国省会城市的快速发展，有时候，你想在一线城市逃开的“坑”，在非一线可能再跌进去。例如杭州，对初入职场的他来说压力就很大： “杭州虽然是非一线城市，而且对硕士毕业生有一次性发放的3万元就业补贴，但这里的消费水平在某些方面已经向一线城市看齐。”
“然而，与消费水平不同，非一线城市律师业务的领域和层级可能无法迅速跟进，与‘真’一线城市之间依然存在差据。”他补充道。
与此同时，由于执业初期还未能积累足够资源拓展案源，加上非一线城市普遍入门薪资待遇较低，年轻的他仍挣扎在自给自足的边缘。他玩笑说：“我处于一种看似光鲜过人，实则青黄不接的状态。”
“如果再来一次，我可能不一定会做出相同选择。”他坦言。
Young lawyers seek work-life balance in second-tier cities
For ambitious lawyers in China, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have long been the top cities to work in. While these first-tier cities provide career opportunities and international exposure, they are also more competitive and expensive to reside in: Mercer’s global Cost of Living city ranking 2021 places Shanghai and Beijing in 6th and 9th place, respectively.
These are some of the factors that have caused a rethink among younger generations. With work-life balance also becoming increasingly important for young lawyers, there has been a resulting change in attitudes towards traditional business hubs.
A recent ALB WeChat survey examining lawyers’ attitudes found that 65 percent of respondents (out of almost 200) are currently working in first-tier cities. While 41 percent have no intention of leaving, citing good opportunities, the remaining 24 percent expressed concern about work pressures and said they wished to relocate. Of the 35 percent living in second and third-tier cities, 16 percent said they had studied in places like Beijing or Shanghai, but had chosen to leave, while the remainder said they had worked in second or third-tier cities all their lives, and they were generally satisfied with their work and lives.
Kate, a lawyer who only gave her first name, works at the Xi’an-headquartered Silkroad Law Firm. She told ALB she had considered her city and career carefully.
After graduating from Peking University and a one-year stint at Jingtian & Gongcheng in Beijing, she made the decision to return to her hometown Xi’an. Today, in addition to working as a junior partner at Silkroad, she is studying for her LLM at New York’s Columbia University.
“I have many friends and relatives here, and the living environment is quite familiar to me, so I can spend more time with my family," Kate tells ALB. "The cost of living in Xi'an is lower than in first-tier cities and the pace of life is more comfortable.”
Overall, she finds her life in Xi'an has "a good balance between life and work,” but it’s not without its disadvantages.
"Because it’s far away from where clients and peers gather, there are fewer opportunities for business development, face-to-face communication with clients, or participating in professional conferences,” Kate says.
Also, despite the promise of a more comfortable life, smaller cities can come with their own pressures. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a young male lawyer working in Hangzhou said the rapid development of China's provincial capitals meant even second-tier cities can still be both competitive and expensive, with low salaries and earning potential compounding the problem.
"Although Hangzhou is not a first-tier city, and there is an employment subsidy of 30,000 yuan for master's graduates, the [competition] level here is in some ways the same as in first-tier cities," he says.
And while second-tier cities can just as expensive as Beijing or Shanghai, entry-level salaries are quite low. "It seems glamorous, but only I know life is hard,” the lawyer says. “If I had a chance to do it over again, I might not make the same choice."
To contact the editorial team, please email ALBEditor@thomsonreuters.com.
